The sol­diers were guard­ing the Sav­ior’s tomb,
At the close of the Sab­bath day;
And the sha­dows lay deep in the gar­den gloom
Where the bo­dy of Je­sus lay;
For the priests had re­mem­ber­èd that it was said,
That the Sav­ior should rise again from the tomb.
And the watch was kept while the Sav­ior slept,
And His loved ones wept, for He was no more,
And His loved ones wept, for He was no more.

The grave was made sure and the stone was sealed,
Lest His friends steal away the Lord,
And the light of the torch­es the guards re­vealed,
In obe­di­ence to Pi­late’s word.
Lo, an earth­quake was sent and Je­sus’ tomb was rent
And the keep­ers did shake, to earth then they reeled.
And the watch was kept while the Sav­ior slept,
And His loved ones wept, for He was no more,
And His loved ones wept, for He was no more.

The an­gel of God rolled the stone away
From the door of the Sav­ior’s tomb,
And the fair, ho­ly dawn of the East­er day
Had dis­pelled all the night of gloom;
And the an­gel then told un­to the wo­men there,
The Mas­ter hath ris’n, O see where He lay.
Oh, the ho­ly dawn of the East­er morn,
How it turns our night in­to day so bright,
How it turns our night in­to day so bright.